Monte Cook along with Keith Baker Are Teaching Workshops at DMU

Beginning in 2018, a specialized event organizer has been running immersive events where expert DMs lead D&D games in ancient fortresses in the UK and at Landoll’s Mohican Castle. These all-inclusive trips are widely appreciated among long-time dungeon masters who rarely get the opportunity to participate as players themselves, and they often ask for tips from the pros on topics ranging from improvisation and creating challenges to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.

In response, the organizers began developing a structured way to address these questions, which led to the establishment of Dungeon Master University. The debut workshop is scheduled for January 2-3, 2026 at an Atlanta campus.

“It's possible to view countless online tutorials on almost every theme and gain significant knowledge, but the philosophy was that nothing compares to face-to-face interaction in the company of fellow DMs, where real-time interaction with expert teachers and your fellow DMs who are probably in comparable situations and seek to improve their skills,” explained Jason Carl.

Available Classes and Pricing Tiers

Game masters can choose from packages ranging from $995 to $2.5K, according to the amount of contact they desire with the experts. The starting package includes selection from four classes:

• Skill Building: Covers the basics of managing a session.
• Story Arc Development: Centers on crafting long-running games.
• Worldbuilding: Concentrates on the art of setting design.
• Professional Development: Designed for game masters who aim to explore more about the tabletop profession.

Every class includes two days of classwork divided across 48 hours.

“The workshops are designed so that you depart having immediate practical outcomes, enhanced belief in your abilities, and a lot of usable tools,” Carl said. “They’re not just lectures and they exceed pre-recorded material. These workshops that you can join, gain knowledge from, and then return to your group the week after and put into practice in your home campaign.”

Professional Teachers

The majority of workshops are led by duo of instructors. Worldbuilding is led by an industry veteran and a renowned campaign designer, both teaching the skill of universe design.

Professional development includes several experts, such as a puzzle design specialist, Clint McElroy, and Hunter Fell. The expanded teaching staff is intended to offer targeted guidance to students with specific goals.

“Some of them aim to start their own live gameplay show and present their narratives with the world, some of them want to publish and create new material,” Carl said. “Several only seek to ask, How do I get to be a DM at something like D&D in a Castle? What are the skills that I need? Can anyone do it?”

Premium Packages

A fifteen hundred dollar gold tier includes access to a welcome reception, a introductory package, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with a teacher. This marks the inaugural DMU session, though the company has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between adventures at their immersive experiences.

“It would be possible to organize an complete event just on one-on-one meetings for professional dungeon masters,” Carl said. “I'm not certain if that’s the best use of everybody’s time – I believe the coursework and the hands-on activities is extremely important – but I think it’s going to be among the most sought-after parts of the program.”

The twenty-five hundred dollar top package includes an extended personal consultation and the chance to run a game for five players plus an instructor, who will then offer feedback and instruction.

“The aim is for the instructor to assess whichever aspect is concerned with: I have difficulty with spontaneous decisions or I get blocked in specific fight encounters. Can I run a scenario for you and receive input on what my strengths and weaknesses are?” Carl said. “Perhaps they want to obtain critique and advice on a particular setting that they’ve been creating.”

Coming Developments

Input from the inaugural session will help shape upcoming academy workshops. Carl mentioned that potential adjustments could include increasing consultation time, making it longer to a longer period, or experimenting with alternative workshop formats.

“I hope that we do this frequently,” Carl said. “I truly hope to see multiple Dungeon Master Universities in a calendar year, in multiple places, and in various nations. The feedback has been overwhelmingly favorable. We're quite pleased with current developments and I think it would be wonderful to be able to conduct this in collaboration with major events.”